'Special' time at Brora Rangers will count for nothing ahead of Nairn County's trip to Dudgeon Park, says manager Steven Mackay
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Steven Mackay makes no bones about it – Brora Rangers remain special to him.
Tomorrow at Dudgeon Park, though, the Nairn County manager only has eyes on what would be a shock victory despite their own rich form.
Mackay has faced Brora three times since becoming Nairn manager in October last year, with an initial 4-0 beating followed by two single-goal defeats.
“The last couple of games have been close,” Mackay stressed.
“There’s obviously a strong connection with me and the club. That will always be there.
“I’m not embarrassed to admit that Brora was the best time in my career, both playing and managing. I had a fantastic time there.
“Like anything, people move on in football, but I’ll always have a strong affiliation with that football club irrespective.
“On Saturday, I go there representing Nairn and there is obviously that added spice given the connection with myself, David Hind and Ross Tokely.”
Nairn have chalked up seven straight league wins since losing 6-0 to Buckie Thistle. Prior to that hefty setback, they had won three more league matches after starting the campaign with four straight defeats.
Nairn now face the same run of opponents as that opening foursome, allowing the management team to gauge progress since.
“We’re in good form, but you need to be if you’re heading up to Brora trying to get something,” Mackay said. “The boys are playing well and confidence is high. We’re certainly looking forward to Saturday now.
“We had a really tough start in the league, then went on a bit of a run. We were really disappointed with the 6-0 defeat to Buckie Thistle.
“We understand where we are as a club, we’re not going to win every game, but we always ask the team to respond in the right way.
“They’ve certainly done that. It is down to hard work. We feel we are well-organised, players know their jobs and ultimately they are delivering on a Saturday. The boys deserve a huge amount of credit.
“You always want to measure where you are as a club and these next four games are ones we lost early in the season, so it will be interesting to see how the boys stand up to these games because we didn’t take anything from them at the start of the season.”
